Meet Gillian Kohn

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gillian Kohn . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gillian, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

As a creative person, I think there’s always an internal battle to find a steady place of confidence. Persistent negative thoughts in the back of your mind… feelings of inadequacy or questions of relevance… they’re always there (especially given the climate of our new “social” world). But at the end of the day, it’s just noise. It’s fear, plain and simple.

I believe that if there’s a dream born of an honest place within oneself, then the ability to achieve it is there too. If there’s a thought, no matter how grandiose, there’s strength to define and articulate it also.

For as complex as this sounds, this is where I find my confidence… in believing that a very small, quiet something, whatever it may be, can move mountains if you trust.

It’s always a battle though, and finding ways to navigate the fight to confidence, is the real challenge. But it’s one moment at a time…

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

In this life, I wear a lot of hats, and I mean that quite literally (but figuratively too).

Professionally, I am a jazz vocalist based out of Charleston, South Carolina. By night, I croon the classics, those hundred-year-old songs from the days of yore. It’s been my greatest dream since childhood. (Hint hint: I’d love to perform at your next special event!)

By day, I’m wife to a handsome man living with multiple sclerosis, and mother to two boys — one living with autism. Traversing these respective diagnoses, and their inherent bureaucracies, has been so difficult, but in that very same breath, they’ve also been my greatest blessings.

Strangely, I found my voice when I waited desperately to hear my son’s. And I found my footing, as a fighter and advocate, when my husband (sadly) lost his.

On a lighter note, I love fashion styling, traveling and writing. I’ve also made a nice small business out of selling antiques and vintage gems.

All said and done though, I have dreams of accomplishing things beyond my wildest imaginings — so I don’t want to explicitly limit the possibility by saying, “It’s my goal… ya da ya da ya!”

I just want my children, in this life, to see me actively chasing, speaking, pursuing and fighting for the things I hold dear, and I also want to make my husband proud.

Extra bonus, it doesn’t hurt sleeping well at night. Ya know, that whole “no regrets, carpé diem” movement.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Hard to nail down just three…

I think being an outcast, as a young girl in a small town, taught me RESILIENCE. It gifted me a sense of moxie. (I’m not saying I didn’t cry, but it made me strong.)

I think failing repeatedly as a young adult on an untraditional (education/career) path, taught me COURAGE. It gifted me unshakable determination. (I’m not saying it was easy, but what in life is?)

I think watching my loved ones struggle daily to overcome, as a now parent and partner on a journey beyond my control, teaches me RESPECT. It gives me empathy on a near hourly basis. (I’m not saying it isn’t brutal though, but Rocky was always the underdog, right?)

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

I recently listened to Jane Fonda on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s podcast, “Wiser Than Me.”

She said, “‘No’ is a complete sentence.”

These five words have been very impactful for me as an artist/mother/wife/dreamer, because truly valuing yourself — truly knowing your worth — mandates its use.

Ironically, “no” has felt right.

I’ve been saying it a whole lot more, and my path is clearer for it.

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Image Credits
Emma Hill Photography Larry Monteith

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